The Hard Way Down
by CaptAcorn
Summary: Is there anything more frightening than a (half) Klingon mother protecting her young? Story nine from the Home series.


**A/N** : Please welcome my final OC of the series, Aatto Virtanen. He's an absolute darling, as well as an anxious mess, so please be kind. You can see acknowledgements under the first story of the series, **Fresh Start**. Here's a list of the stories so far:

1\. Fresh Start

2\. Running to the End

3\. Growing Pains

4\. Grounded

5\. Preferences

6\. Release

7\. Falling

8\. Support System

9\. The Hard Way Down

* * *

The entire morning had been an exercise in humiliation.

He was Finnish! There was lots of skiing in Finland! Everyone skied! All the time! Aatto Virtanen had grown up skiing!

Nordic skiing.

So he hadn't been _lying_ when he said he spent much of his childhood on skis. He just hadn't been _specific_. Aatto figured he'd pick it up quick enough. How hard could alpine skiing be? He assumed, as a matter of fact, that it would be easier. He'd have gravity on his side, after all.

He'd been mistaken. Gravity turned out to be his mortal enemy. Or at least the mortal enemy of his right knee.

Right after breakfast this morning, the newlyweds, Miral and Shovar, had headed off by themselves. "Are we going to meet up with them later?" Aatto had asked Tom, his boyfriend's father. Joe was still getting dressed.

"No way," Tom said, helping himself to another pancake. "Shovar's never been skiing before, and Miral is going to teach him herself. We'll be lucky if they don't come to blows by the end of it. I'm giving that disaster a wide berth." He held up the coffee pot, and Aatto gave him his cup for a refill. "Besides, they're going to be on easy trails all day. It'll get boring fast." Tom looked at Aatto once the coffee was poured. "Unless you want to start out slow? Joe said you were an experienced skier, but if it's been a while… "

"No!" Aatto said, waving his hands. "I'll be fine! We can do whatever you like." Joe had told him plenty of stories about his dad. A former Starfleet pilot, Tom believed the faster and more dangerous the activity, the better. Aatto didn't want him to think he couldn't keep up.

He _had_ been hoping, apparently fruitlessly, that the group of five would at least start off together. Aatto was very aware of Shovar's lack of skiing experience and thought that maybe he could stay with the Klingon as an excuse to avoid the harder trails. "Go off with your Dad and sister, Joe," he had planned on saying. "I'll stay with Shovar."

The best laid plans.

So that was how Aatto found himself over three thousand meters above sea level, with a lovely view of the Matterhorn that terror prevented him from fully appreciating, about to take the first downhill ski run of his life.

"Dad, should we start with this one?" Joe was pointing a pole towards a trail off to the left that appeared to drop off at about sixty degrees. Maybe more.

"Witwenmacher? I guess, if you want to ease into things. I was leaning towards Selbstmordgasse, myself."

Aatto's German was pretty rusty, but he was fairly certain that the two possible routes of death being discussed were named 'Widowmaker' and 'Suicide Alley.' He sidled over to the trail map and gestured at a yellow line that seemed to slowly wend its way down the mountain via a series of switchbacks. "How about this one?"

"You want to start with an ungroomed trail?" Tom said. "Pretty hardcore, Aatto. I'm in." And without further adieu, he set off into the woods, Joe hot on his heels.

Aatto had been fairly pleased with himself at the beginning. He'd managed to keep both Joe and Tom in eyesight and kept his moans of fear at a pretty muted volume. (Easily passed off as wind moving through the trees!). He made it almost halfway down the mountain without a single incident.

But that first incident was a pretty damn big one.

"You really could have said something," Tom said now, as he put a pillow under Aatto's right leg, "if you needed to warm up on an easier trail. Now you're out for the whole weekend."

"I might be healed up enough to go again by Sunday" Aatto said, because this seemed like the sort of thing a passionate skier would say. _Please, don't let me be healed enough by Sunday._

Tom shook his head regretfully. "You heard what the doctor said — you shredded your ACL _and_ the meniscus. I got the same injury myself a few years back. It's nothing to fool around with. You need to be careful on that leg for a week or two, at least."

 _Thank you, thank you, thank you_. Aatto gave a deep sigh as he sank further into the overstuffed cushions of the sofa. "Right. Oh well. Maybe next time."

Joe came in from the kitchen, bearing a tray laden with coffee, cured meats, bread, and cheese. "This should keep you happy for a little while," he said with a smile as he put it on a table within Aatto's reach. He sat on the edge of the couch and stroked Aatto's blond hair. "I'll get your PADD, too. Are you in any pain? Do you need another hypospray?"

"No, I'm fine," Aatto said, leaning into Joe's soothing hand. "Thanks." Honestly, if he could have skipped the excruciating pain part, Aatto couldn't think of a better way for this weekend to go. No more skiing, his boyfriend hovering all over him with treats and cuddles. What more could a guy ask for?

"Well, if you two are all settled," Tom said. "I'm going to head back out there. I can still get a few hours in."

"You going to find Miral and Shovar?" Joe asked, turning towards his father.

"Miral just sent me a message saying the ski lesson was going to be the primary cause of their divorce," Tom said. "So I don't think so. I'll just head out by myself."

"Dad," Joe said in a warning tone. "You know what Mom said."

Tom rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine, Joe. I've been skiing since I was six. Your mother doesn't need to know."

"But I'll know," Joe said, standing up. "I'd be saying this to anyone, you know. It's not safe to ski alone, especially not on the trails you like."

Aatto watched the back and forth, with a growing unease. Joe often expressed concern about his father, who took a rather cavalier attitude towards his health and safety despite being well into his sixties. The whole family tried to keep an eye on him, but Joe in particular felt one of his primary missions in life was to keep his father from meeting an untimely demise. Aatto knew what the right thing to do was. He just really, really didn't want to do it.

"You should go with your Dad, Joe," he said, his visions of his boyfriend giving him back rubs and making him hot chocolate disappearing in a flash. "I'll be fine here on my own. Go have fun."

Joe looked at him, his eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

Aatto knew it the drove Joe nuts — how he would claim to be fine with one thing when he most definitely wanted the opposite. But this was different! This wasn't pretending to be happy with barbecue when he really wanted to eat Thai. This was Aatto being the bigger person! Making a willing sacrifice! There was nothing wrong with that, right? Even if it wasn't _entirely_ honest?

"Yes, I'm sure," Aatto said, giving Joe's hand a pat. "I'm not an invalid. I can hobble back and forth between here and the kitchen and the bathroom just fine on my own. You've both been looking forward to this trip for weeks. Please. Go ahead."

Joe watched him another beat, then broke into a grin. "Thanks, Aatto. You're the best. We won't stay out too long." After he made sure Aatto had his PADD and an analgesic within reach, Joe tucked a warm blanket around him, gave him a peck on the lips, then left with his father to head back to the slopes.

Aatto sighed as he looked around the great room of the chalet. There were worse things than having to spend a few hours alone on a couch in front of a roaring fire. He could still be skiing, for example. And it's not like Joe would be gone forever. They'd all be back for dinner. Aatto was an adult — he was perfectly capable of entertaining himself for a few hours.

But, as per usual, mostly what Aatto's brain wanted to do was worry. The whole point of this weekend was for Joe's father and sister to get to know him better, not for him to lie alone on the couch after making a complete fool of himself. He could imagine the future family dinners already: "Remember your weird ex, Joe? The one that pretended he knew how to ski?" Then they'd all have a hearty laugh and Joe would put his lean, tan arm around someone that wasn't Aatto.

He had to figure out a way to fix this — make it so that Tom and Miral's impression of him was something other than 'Guy Who Couldn't Ski His Way Around a Tree.' He knew that if Joe's family didn't approve of him, their relationship wouldn't be long for this world, and his relationship with Joe was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

It's not that he'd never been in love before. Aatto had had a dozen different boyfriends and girlfriends over the years. But each one had soon tired of having to constantly reassure him that he was funny, that he was loved, that he was a good person, and they'd all made tracks before too long. Aatto had been sure that's what would happen with Joe, too, after their first few dates, when he'd realized the other man had barely had a chance to talk for all of Aatto's blathering.

"I'm sorry," he said, his cheeks burning. "Once again I've monopolized the entire conversation. You must find me so annoying."

"Actually," Joe said with a quiet smile. "I find you adorable."

Joe _liked_ it when he emoted all over the place. Joe was happy to listen him, to reassure him, to let him drive the conversation. And, when Aatto finally admitted that he was worried that their relationship was too one-sided, that Joe was always doing all the keeping and was never the one being kept, he'd received a rather lengthy written list in response one day later. It detailed all the ways in which Aatto made Joe happy: _Makes me laugh until I can't breath. Knows when to force me out of the house and when to let me stay in. Makes me feel needed._ Not to mention a few more risqué items.

But it was the last one that made Aatto start to cry: _When we're together, I feel like I'm home._

So he _had_ to win over Joe's family. He couldn't ruin the best relationship he'd ever had over something as stupid as a skiing accident! But, Aatto decided as he regarded his still swollen knee, maybe this was only a minor setback. In fact, he considered, he could probably spin this little misadventure into a pretty funny anecdote. Nothing won people over like self-deprecation! Over dinner tonight, he would make his confession: that he thought his cross-country skills would easily translate to downhill ones, how he'd misunderstood the markings on the trail map. Tom and Miral and Shovar all laughed easily, and Joe was used to the absurd lengths to which Aatto would go to make people like him. The weekend could… no _, would_ be saved.

At least Aatto had had _one_ bit of luck on his side. Tom had come to Switzerland alone, his wife being busy with work and not a particular fan of skiing or winter weather. Aatto chuckled in relief. That would have been a _disaster_ , if Joe's mother were here. He couldn't imagine the formidable B'Elanna Torres would have found any of this amusing or charming.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

 _Shit._

It was B'Elanna.

Of course it was.

"In here," Aatto finally said, several seconds past the time that it would have been reasonable to respond.

B'Elanna came in from the entryway of the chalet and took in the sight of Aatto reclining on the couch, surrounded by cushions and snacks and PADDs. She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me."

Joe's dad was friendly and charming and quick to put everyone around him at ease. Miral seemed to treat everyone she met like they'd been best friends for life. But B'Elanna… Well, Aatto was _sure_ she was a wonderful person — she'd made Joe, after all. It was just that he found her completely terrifying.

He'd met her only twice before. It wasn't uncommon for Tom to pop into Dublin and take Joe out for dinner, so Aatto had chatted with him several times over a pint or two. But B'Elanna's work schedule was apparently more demanding, and she often traveled off-world for conferences or to meet clients — she didn't make it to Ireland nearly as much as her husband. So one day, when Aatto and Joe had headed to San Diego for a few hours of surfing, Joe suggested they stop by his parents' office.

"It's crazy that you haven't met my mom yet," Joe said. "We'll just say hi. It won't take long."

Tom was in San Francisco for a meeting that day. B'Elanna was there, but she was… preoccupied.

"What the hell is the matter with all of you?" was the first thing Aatto heard when they entered the firm. It came from a disembodied, and very angry, voice, somewhere beyond the reception area. The heavy-set man sitting at the front desk made a face. "It's not the best time," he whispered.

Joe just shrugged and pulled Aatto with him into the corridor. As they approached the glass-walled central drafting area, Aatto could see a woman with forehead ridges and long, silver-streaked hair pacing the floor in front of two terrified-looking humans and one frightened Bajoran. "How many times do I have to explain this?" she barked.

"Mom?" Joe said, poking his head into the room. Aatto tried to make a break for it, but Joe had a tight hold of his arm. "Bad time?"

"Obviously," growled the woman Aatto now knew for certain was B'Elanna Torres.

"OK. I just wanted to say hi. And introduce you to Aatto." Joe pulled his reluctant boyfriend closer to him. Aatto gave her a little wave.

"Hi," she said brusquely, barely sparing him a glance before she returned to ripping into her staff.

Aatto had only seen her one other time since: at last week's dinner to celebrate Miral and Shovar's marriage for all those who hadn't made it to Qo'noS. He'd noted (from a distance) how much B'Elanna could smile and laugh, but for Aatto all she had was a brief, "Nice to see you again." Clearly, she wasn't very impressed.

And now here he was, incapacitated on the couch, with B'Elanna looming over him, eyes blazing. "What did he do to you?"

"I'm sorry? What did who do to me?"

"My husband," she said. "He's a damn menace on the slopes. Sometimes I think he believes the entire world has holodeck safeties on, the way he acts. And then they all just left you here alone to fend for yourself? Did they at least take you to a doctor?"

Aatto quickly assured her they did and explained how Miral and Shovar had been off by themselves since early in the morning, and why Joe had left with Tom. "But they left me with snacks," Aatto said.

"I can see that." She turned to the coffee table and started to clean up the empty plates and mug that Aatto had left there.

"Oh, sorry," Aatto said, starting to get up from the couch. He moved his injured leg too fast and winced.

"Don't get _up_ ," B'Elanna looked at him, frowning. "Do you want to make it worse?"

"Sorry," Aatto said again. B'Elanna just shook her head and took the tray of dirty dishes back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later she reappeared with a book in her hand. She paused before the couch and looked at him. "Do you need something?"

Did he? Had he inadvertently made a noise that sounded like a request? Or maybe he had actually asked for something and had completely forgotten in his nervousness? _God, I am really cracking up. Joe_ should _leave me. I am obviously not capable of functioning in normal society._

"Aatto."

He still hadn't answered her. B'Elanna was staring at him as if he were simple.

"No!" he blurted out. "No. I'm fine. Thank you."

B'Elanna shook her head again and settled in a nearby armchair with her book.

Lord. This was terrible. Here he was, a prisoner on the couch, trapped alone with a woman that clearly found him lacking in every way. If only she hadn't sat by the fireplace! Now if he left for the bedroom he was sharing with Joe, it would be clear that he was trying to get away from her. Although maybe she'd like that? If he left her alone? She had shown up when she'd thought everyone would be out on the slopes. But if she wanted to be alone, would she have chosen a seat in the same room as him? On the other hand, she didn't like to be cold, and it was the only room in the house with a fireplace, so maybe she'd chosen it _in spite_ of Aatto's continued and very much unwanted presence?

Clearly the only choice was for Aatto to close his eyes and feign sleep until Joe returned. He was really regretting all those cups of coffee now.

"Aatto? Are you all right?"

Aatto's eyes popped open and he turned towards B'Elanna's chair. "What? Yes. I'm fine."

"Then what's with that face you're making? You look like you're in pain. You should take that analgesic if you need it." She gestured towards the hypospray that Joe had left for him, then cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowed. "This isn't a Klingon thing, is it?"

 _Oh no. Oh no. Oh no._ Not only did Joe's father now know Aatto was a lying fool that didn't know how to ski, but Joe's mother thought he was racist? How had this all gone so terribly wrong? "No! No, it's not a Klingon thing," he stammered. "At least I don't think it is. But then maybe I have some internalized biases. I mean, I've never been outside the Sol system, so—"

"Aatto," B'Elanna interjected, her mouth quirked. "Will you relax? I'm not accusing you of anything. It's just some humans seem to think they can't show pain in front me, as if I'll think less of them because I'm half-Klingon. But I won't. Think less of you."

 _Because it's probably physically impossible for you to think any less of me than you already do_ , Aatto thought as he smiled wanly at her. "No. Really. It's fine. My leg is fine."

"OK," she said, still giving him a questioning look. "Are you sure you don't need something? I don't mind. More snacks? Or coffee?"

 _Oh boy, do I_ not _need more coffee_. Aatto started to twiddle his thumbs as he stared at the ceiling. "No, thank you."

B'Elanna turned back to her book, but she didn't seem to get very far before she spoke again. "The computer modeling on our latest shuttle upgrade came out better than I expected."

"Oh wow!" Aatto plastered a broad smile on his face. "That is wonderful news!"

"I don't know that I'd go that far," she said, staring at him again. "But it did mean I could come out here. I wanted to spend more time with Miral and Shovar before they go back to the _Lozen_ on Wednesday."

"I thought you didn't like skiing. Or the cold."

"I don't," B'Elanna replied. "But I do like my family. When they're not driving me crazy anyway." She paused and gave him a hint of a smile. "What's your family like?"

 _You're asking the wrong person,_ was Aatto's usual pithy deflection to this sort of question, but he didn't think that would go over too well with Joe's mother. "Oh, you know. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Mom. Dad. Grandparents I never knew very well. And uh… that's about it. We're not very close."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, Aatto continuing to look anywhere but at B'Elanna. Finally he heard her sigh.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not very good at this. Small talk. Joe wants me to get to know you better, but chit chat's not really my thing."

Normally chit chat was Aatto's thing. Normally he could talk the ear off an elephant. But something about the way B'Elanna watched him with her dark, probing eyes — it put him off balance. It was as if she was waiting for him to put a foot wrong. _I should just put us both out of our misery. Joe's bound to be back soon, and then it won't be so bad. I just have to hold out a little bit longer._

"It's really OK," he said, forcing another smile to his face. "You don't need to bother. To get to know me. I'm not that interesting." _Besides, given how this weekend is going, I'll be lucky if Joe doesn't make tracks before we get back to Dublin._ A hysterical giggle slipped out before he could stop it. "Who knows how long I'll be around anyway?"

It was as if the fireplace had gone out, the room chilled so fast. Aatto actually glanced at the massive stone hearth to see if there were still flames present.

"Right," B'Elanna said, in a voice that could cut dilithium. She turned back to her book.

 _My God_ , Aatto thought, as he returned to his new hobby of ceiling watching, _I've actually managed to make this worse._

"I was just joking," he whispered. Or possibly just said in his own head. There was so much blood pounding in his ears he couldn't be sure.

"Joe's pretty serious about you, you know." B'Elanna was staring at him again.

Actually, it was really more of a glower.

"He's never had us meet anyone he's dated before," she continued. "In fact, he's never even _mentioned_ anyone he's dated before. So if this is some kind of lark — because you always wanted to bed a Klingon, or you thought he'd be some fun new plaything for you — then you better tell him now. Because I am _not_ going to stand to the side and let some callous asshole toy with my son's emotions."

Aatto tried to sit up, but in his panic he got his left leg tangled in the blanket and nearly slid off the couch entirely. "What? No!" he stammered, as he clutched onto the cushions and tried to right himself on the sofa. "That's not what I… I didn't mean… I really care about your son!"

"I know he comes off as the strong, silent type," she said, not acknowledging Aatto's protestations in the slightest. Her book fell to the floor with a loud thunk. "He never complains, he never gets upset. But he is my baby, and I will _kill_ before I let someone hurt him." She leaned forward, her eyes flashing. "I mean that quite literally. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Aatto nodded so hard he thought he felt something in his neck pop.

"Good," she growled, picking her book up and settling back in the chair.

Well that was it, then. He'd done it. He completely sabotaged the best… God, it wasn't even just the best, it was the _only_ good relationship he'd ever had. As soon as B'Elanna told her family that Joe's boyfriend was just a Klingon fetishist that played with his lovers like so many pawns on a chessboard, he'd be kicked out into the snow, left to gimp his way back to his pathetic semi-detached in Ashbourne all by his lonesome. Why was he so stupid and awful and crazy? Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut for once?

Aatto slowly pulled off the blanket that Joe had so lovingly tucked around him. God, was it only an hour ago that he'd still been happy? He eased his aching leg off the cushions and slowly rose to standing. B'Elanna ignored him.

 _I guess I should go pack up my stuff._ His eyes tracked to the PADD that Joe had brought him earlier. He should take it with him to the bedroom. The one he would soon no longer share with the best person he'd ever known. As he picked up his device, Aatto inadvertently flipped it on, and the most popular file opened automatically.

It was the list Joe had written for him.

On one of their early dates (the same one as the 'adorable' comment) Aatto informed Joe that he would probably lose interest in him quickly. "I can't imagine even a part-Klingon would find me appealing for long," he'd said. "I'm not much for confrontation. When I was ten, my violin teacher called me Aldo for weeks before my mother found out and corrected her."

"I'm not what one would call a typical Klingon," Joe had remarked. "Besides, _anyone_ can be a little confrontational, if they have to be. Maybe you just haven't found anything worth fighting over yet."

Time to see if Joe was right.

He turned back to face the literal and metaphorical fire, cleared his throat and… made a sort of squeaking sound.

B'Elanna peered at him over the top of her book, eyebrows raised.

"I don't have any intentions of doing that!" Aatto shouted. He may have overcorrected a bit.

"Of doing what?" Her voice was still icy.

Aatto forced himself to meet her eyes and tried again. "Of hurting him. I wouldn't hurt Joe for anything. I don't want to say I'll _never_ hurt him, because I'm only human, after all, and I'm kind of a mess. But when I do, _if_ I do, it'll be one hundred percent accidental. Because I love your son, B'Elanna." Her eyes narrowed and Aatto was certain he shrunk a centimeter or two in response. "Uh… Ms. Torres."

She lowered her book a fraction. "You seem to mean well, Aatto. For Joe to like you as much as he does, you can't be all bad. But… I'm just not sure you're the right person for him. There's a lot about him you don't know. Joe needs someone he can rely on, that I know will be there for him — even if things get difficult. I don't want to get into specifics, but something happened a few years ago, something he doesn't like to talk about— "

"I already know about it," Aatto interjected.

"What is it that you think you know?" Her voice was skeptical.

"His first year at Trinity," Aatto said, sitting down on the edge of the couch and eager to (maybe? hopefully?) prove himself to B'Elanna. "Why he had to take a leave of absence. He's told me all about it."

"He did?"

Aatto nodded. "We've talked about it a lot, actually. You might be surprised to hear this, but I've seen my fair share of counselors and therapists over the years." B'Elanna snorted, giving Aatto a small boost of confidence. "So I know the ropes pretty well. The thing is, I know you're his mom and you worry about him. But he's good now. I mean, really good. He's _happ_ y. And he's a lot stronger than you think. Definitely a lot stronger than I am, for sure. But if he has a moment, here or there, when he's not feeling so strong, then… I can fake it pretty well. For a little while anyway."

Her expression softened a touch. "You love him."

"A lot."

She frowned again. "Then what was that crack about? 'Who knows how long I'll be around?' If you love him so damn much, why the hell would you go anywhere?"

Aatto heaved a great sigh and fell back onto the couch. "Because he'll probably kick me to the curb as soon as he realizes what a complete idiot I've been this weekend. I've made such a mess of things. Joe cares about me, I know he does, but he _loves_ you and Tom. He would never want to be with someone you didn't approve of."

"No," B'Elanna said as she leaned back in her armchair. "He wouldn't." She looked at the book in her hands, flipped a few pages back and forth. "You said you're not close to your parents?"

Aatto shook his head, wondering where this new line of questioning was going. Was it yet another failing on his part? Were all quality people expected to have impeccable familial relations?

"I wasn't either," B'Elanna said. "And Tom's had his share of issues, too, although they've mostly been worked out by now. But what it means is: we both wanted to do better. We want to have good relationships with our kids, want them to be able to come to us for anything if they need to. Sometimes it also means we, and maybe especially I, have a little trouble letting go. And remembering that if we did a good job, we can trust them to make decisions for themselves."

"You did a great job. Raising him. I don't know if I've ever met someone as good as Joe." Aatto gave her a watery smile before staring down at his hands. "I'm jealous, really. How close you all are. I've never really had that."

"It wasn't easy," B'Elanna said. "And it took me a long time. But eventually I found the family that I wanted. That I needed. I'm guessing you'll be able to do that, too."

Aatto glanced up and saw that she was smiling at him. She and Miral were nearly mirror images of each other; it was easy to B'Elanna in her daughter. Joe, on the other hand, was more of a mix. The ridges, of course, showed his mother's influence, his eyes and height spoke more of his father. But his smile, Aatto now saw, was definitely B'Elanna's. "Thanks."

"But," she said, her face growing serious again. "Don't think I won't be keeping close tabs on you."

"Of course, Ms. Torres," Aatto said, trying really hard not to squirm.

"B'Elanna is fine," she said. "And by the way — I wouldn't worry too much about you being an idiot this weekend… Have you met my husband? Joe has a well-documented fondness for idiots." She crossed her legs neatly under her and adjusted her book. "So do I."

Miral and Shovar were the first to return, and, surprisingly, both were in a chipper mood. They'd given up on skiing by lunch time and discovered that Shovar had a much greater affinity for snow tubing. "You should join us tomorrow, Aatto! You would not have to put any weight on your leg." Shovar made some vague hand gestures and added, by way of explanation, "You ride down the mountain on your butt."

Tom and Joe followed a few minutes later, red-cheeked and sweaty, and pleased to see B'Elanna had come to join them.

After giving his mother a hug, Joe came to sit on the edge of the couch. "Hey," he said softly, squeezing Aatto's hand. "How are you feeling?"

Aatto pulled him in for a kiss. "Better now that you're back."

"Sorry about my mom showing up," Joe whispered as he helped Aatto sit up. "I never would have left you alone if I'd known she was coming. I know she makes you nervous."

"It's OK. We actually had a really nice talk."

Joe raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You did?"

"Eventually." Aatto leaned his head into Joe's chest and smiled at the steady thumping of his heart.

The End

* * *

Coming next week! **Wintercaerig**


End file.
